SAUDI ARABIA is set to host talks on Tuesday between the United States and Ukraine in a new diplomatic push to bring the war with Russia to an end.

The meeting follows an astonishing row between President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance on  February 28 in the White House Oval Office.

Saudi Arabia, under its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been positioning itself as an ideal location for possible peace negotiations between Kiev and Moscow — and even the first face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry in a statement on Friday identified the location for the talks as Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea. 

The ministry said the kingdom would continue to pursue “a lasting peace to end the Ukrainian crisis.

“The kingdom has continued these efforts over the past three years by hosting many meetings on this matter,” the ministry said.

President Zelensky said last week: “We continue working on the relevant steps with our partners who want peace, who want it just as much as we do.

“There will be a lot of work here in Europe, with America in Saudi Arabia — we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security.”

President Zelensky wrote online that a team, including his Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov join him in the talks. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the US team.

A state department statement said that President Trump was “determined to end the war as soon as possible and emphasised that all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace.”

Russia has not been invited to the talks, which are seen as a necessary first step towards finding common ground between the US and Ukraine that can be taken to the Russians.

At the end of February the meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders descended into an extraordinary 10-minute argument in front of journalists.

At one point President Trump slammed his Ukrainian counterpart, saying: “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country."”

President Zelensky ended up storming out of the White House without signing a deal that included granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. 

Kiev hoped that deal would ensure the continued flow of US military support that Ukraine urgently needs to continue waging the war with Russia that began after Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.